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Gratitude

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others. Cicero

He enjoys much who is thankful for little. A grateful mind is a great mind. Thomas Secker

We take too much for granted and do not appreciate all of the many reasons we have to be grateful. If we look around, we should easily see many reasons. If that does not do the trick, look at other places in the world and then be humbled with profound gratefulness. There is much more room at the bottom of the prosperity pile than there is at the top. There is much more that is going well for us than against us. What does it take for us to “be grateful”?

It is easier to see faults in others than taking the time to acknowledge our own. Being ungrateful is no different. When we do something special or nice we expect an acknowledgement of gratitude. It is a sign of good upbringing and manners to express gratitude. If none is shown we quickly notice the absence of any visible appreciation. When our children fail to show gratitude, we promptly correct them and instruct them of their omission. How often are we guilty of failing to express gratitude? How many times a day do we have opportunities as well as reasons for saying “thank you”? The words should easily flow from our lips. It should be such an easy thing to remember to do and to say.

Life travels at a very fast pace. It is full of demands, pressures, deadlines, frustrations and a myriad of things that wear us out and down. We often get into some bad habits of not doing the good things we were taught by our parents. We forget manners, politeness, kindness, and being thankful. There is something wrong with our priorities when we forget to do these important and basic things. We are “fouling up big time” and not living life as we should. We are not in control. The rat race has us and we are its grips.

An ungrateful person has issues. The person who knows to be grateful and does not take time to express gratitude needs serious soul searching. A person lacking gratitude is a person who is a “loser” in the strict sense of the word. Another important aspect of gratitude is; the grateful tend to be blessed with more reasons to be grateful, and those who are ungrateful tend to cry, “why me?” We need to give important values and principles higher priority in our lives.

Challenge: How often do you say “thank you” or find reasons to be grateful for the good things in your life? If for some reason you have no reason to be grateful you are truly misfortunate. If you have reasons and are not doing this, shame on you. You are shortchanging your development as a mature and responsible person. This is easy to improve. Start saying “thank you”. Look for reasons and you will find them. Say thank you!

Wisdom: The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings. Eric Hoffer

Spiritual: (NIV)

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High. Ps. 92:1

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Colossians 3:17

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Those that truly understand what God has done for them; cannot be anything but grateful. The most powerful force in the universe has unconditional love for each of us and desires nothing but the best for us. He is the perfect parent in every way. If we could comprehend his love and how much he wants us to be joyful and happy in our lives, we would be brought to our knees and humbled in shame because of our ingratitude.

Prayer: Help me to be aware of the many ways that I am blessed. Help me to be able to say “thank you”.